Filipino maid wins landmark HK case on residency

A Filipino maid in Hong Kong has won the right to apply for permanent residency in a landmark legal victory for hundreds of thousands of foreign maids fighting for equal treatment.

The Court of First Instance rejected arguments by Hong Kong government lawyers that the foreign maids did not have the same residency status as other foreign residents.

Friday's ruling says that the immigration provision denying them the right to apply for permanent residency after seven years was inconsistent with the Basic Law, Hong Kong's mini-constitution. Other foreign residents have the right to apply after that time.

About 290,000 of Hong Kong's 7.1 million people are foreign maids. Most of them are from the Philippines or Indonesia.